San Luciano Wreck

First and foremost, the San Luciano wreck is worth at least one dive while visiting the area. This ship sank during a hurricane in 1959. Today, the top of the wreck is just 4 feet (1 meter) below the surface, making it a perfect wreck for beginners. For more of a challenge, wreck divers can explore the many open rooms throughout the ship.

On August 6, 1965 she struck a submerged rock at Punta Hermanos, Tenacatita, about 38 miles / 61 km from Manzanillo. The collision damaged her front and tore into her forward cargo holds. Flooding went back to the engine room’s bulkhead and held. The Captain, Romero Ortiz, flooded the rear ballast tanks to balance the vessel and continued to sail to Manzanillo. Anchored out on the Juluapan peninsula near Playa La Boquita in Santiago Bay, a diver descended on the wreck and determined the damage was too great for repair. Lloyds of London states “SAN LUCIANO sank at Manzanillo”…to be salvaged.” She was sold to a scrap salvage operation in Guadalajara. Her upper works and many of her fittings and gear were salvaged as late as 1988. To her credit she was the oldest deep water commercial steamship still active on the Pacific Coast, with a 73 year history that spanned two World Wars.

She remains a sunken treasure in Manzanillo. The San Luciano is 300 feet long. A 10-15 minute swim from shore, scuba divers and snorkelers can enjoy the thrill of a ship wreck in shallow water. An average depth of about 20 feet / 6 meters. You can circumnavigate the wreck and there are some areas where you can penetrate. Visibility on the wreck is often not very good but there are times when it is very good and you can see a lot of the ship and start to put things together rather than seeing 5 feet / 1.5 meters at a time. She does have a history!

The San Luciano Shipwreck Manzanillo Dive Site
Shipwrecks always fascinate people so this is one of Manzanillo’s most popular dive sites. This wreck has so many huge puffer fish it is impossible to describe. Both a huge quantity and a huge variety, I doubt you will ever see this many balloonfish again, anywhere. Hawksbill turtles have been sighted on this wreck as well as seahorses and octopus. There are huge schools of grunts that swim and swirl around the wreck.

Playa Audencia

Playa La Audiencia is located right in front of the Tesoro Hotel. This site consists of boulders, ledges and crevices for the diver to explore. It makes a excellent night dive. This site has abundant marine and coral life. If the currents are gentle this is ideal for beginners. This can be a good place to do a night dive. Maximum depths are around 21 meters (63 feet) but no more than 7-8 meters (20 feet) on the south side. Here you can enjoy: damsel fish, yellow tail, moray eels, sting rays, angel gish, trumpet fish and puffer fish.

Club de Yates

Located a just a bit farther out from Playa la Audiencia is Club De Yates. This small cove has some protection if there is surge but it can get strong surge under some conditions in the winter. It is a great snorkel and dive spot and good for novice divers and training. There are several rocks a distance offshore but within easy swimming distance and an easy compass run to get there where depths are up to 18 meters (55 feet). If you stay to the right side you will end up back along the Playa La Audiencia area. If you stay to the left you will head more out towards open water. In between there is a sand patch. This diversity of bottom makes an excellent training site and provides an opportunity to see a variety of marine life including: moray eels, snake eels, damsel fish, sting rays, flounder, the occasional spotted eagle ray and a variety of colorful fish.

Pena Blanca

Is reserved for advanced divers due to its open ocean location, but is worth the risk. Here you’ll find beds of black coral and several pelagic species, migratory whales and giant manta rays.

Pena Blanca is a huge rock island in the open ocean offshore from Playa del Oro beach by the Manzanillo airport. It is an advanced dive with depths that can approach 150 meters (450 feet). Because it is in the open ocean visibility is usually very good. Currents can run from light to heavy depending on the sea swell and wind. The bottoms slopes gradually, but the depth goes on to infinity. Typical dive depths range from 45-100 feet (15-33 meters). This type of structure is the type that will attract pelagic fish. It is an area where sharks are sometimes seen and is visited by whales and giant pacific mantas during the winter. Not only is this rock “white” it smells, quite literally, from the bird droppings. The deeper dives make it worth remembering as you observe black coral, volcanic fissures and coral-encrusted boulders. 

L’Recif

This dive is best done by boat unless you know someone in the condos here. The actual beach is surrounded by private condos and the shore itself is not good for an entry. It is iron shore (rock and pebbles) and can have a strong, unpredictable surge and current. Conditions can change rapidly so keep a weather eye out and watch the winds. For these reasons we suggest an intermediate or advanced diver for this area. Depths can approach 20 meters (60 feet). Marine Life in this area include: cortez angel fish, trumpet fish, puffer fish, parrot fish, octopus and lobsters. There is a coral reef on the right side of the beach with lots to see and explore.

Las Brisas Jetty

The Las Brisas Jetty is in Las Brisas right at the harbor entrance. It is generally a shore dive but can be reached by boat. It is very close to one of the oldest hotels / B&B in Manzanillo, the La Posada. This is a good location for novice divers and the current is generally light but it is the outside entrance to the harbor and is exposed to sea swell and waves. Marine Life observed here includes: Moorish Idols, Grunts, Needle Fish and Seargent Majors.

The Jetty is home to a huge variety of marine life and pristine colorful coral formations. Watch out for boat traffic but also experience the millions of fish spiraling around the rocks.

Los Frailes

The Los Frailes (The Friars) dive site is a very exciting dive. Because of the potential depths and currents we rate it as an intermediate to advanced dive based on the sea conditions. It is best dived the first few times with an experienced diver on this site. It is out in open water and exposed to the weather. Maximum depths are in the 40 meter (120 feet) range. The huge rock pinnacles with walls, ledges, crevices, canyons form a real circle of rock around a shallow, sandy area. It is exciting to see the rocks rising from the depths and breaking the surface. Visibility is generally good here (50-100′) with a lot of marine life to see. A boat is needed to reach and dive this site.

Elephant Rock

Elephant Rock, two swim-throughs, underwater arches are flanked by shallow coral reefs. This site occasionally hosts sea turtles and whale sharks. This is a very popular dive along a great stretch of shoreline for diving. A very distinctive “elephant” from natural rock marks the area. It is a good novice dive with depths averaging 60′, 18m. Visibility here can be good if the swell isn’t huge. You need a boat to reach this site. Seaward of the elephant rock is a cove with tunnels into the mountain and crevices you can swim through. There is also a lava shelf that protrudes past the rock and some submerged archways. It is close to the big Bufadora (the Devil’s Hole). Marine life here includes schools of surgeonfish, king angels, puffers, zebra and jewel morays, parrotfish and stingrays.